Documentary backdrop image for Coal Face, Canada (2020)

202017 minPGdoc-short

labor historical-events world-war-ii

Coal Face, Canada

202017 minPGdoc-short

A young man returns to his coal town after military service, takes a job in the mine, and learns about the community's connection to the war effort.

labor historical-events world-war-ii

Genres

Channel: NFB

Coal Face, Canada

2020• 17 minPG

Synopsis

A young man returns to his coal town after military service, takes a job in the mine, and learns about the community's connection to the war effort.

Synopsis

In a coal town in Canada, a young man returns home after being discharged from the army. As he navigates familiar streets, he takes a room with a miner who recalls the tragic death of his father in the mines. Attending a union meeting, he learns about the vital role of coal in supporting the war effort during World War II. Motivated by this realization, he joins a night shift to work in the mine, contributing to the community and the war. Directed by Robert Edmonds, "Coal Face, Canada" was released in 1943.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Canadian Screen Magazine No. 4 (2021)

Canadian Screen Magazine No. 4

More than 4,000 men and women work to convert military aircraft into commercial airliners after World War II.

Canadian Screen Magazine No. 4

Men of the Deeps (2021)

Men of the Deeps

A chorus of former coal miners from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, performs 16 songs that reflect their shared experiences and the challenges of their past work.

Men of the Deeps

Fields of Sacrifice (2010)

Fields of Sacrifice

Battlefields across Europe and Asia, where over 100,000 Canadian soldiers perished in the World Wars, are explored alongside their cemeteries.

Fields of Sacrifice

Front Lines (2014)

Front Lines

Two soldiers, one Canadian and one German, died at the front, each with a bayonet in the stomach, both just 20 years old.

Forgotten Warriors (2020)

Forgotten Warriors

Thousands of Indigenous Canadians enlisted in World War II, despite being told by the government that they had no business fighting in the conflict.

Forgotten Warriors

Bravery in the Field (2016)

Bravery in the Field

Tommy, a World War II veteran, navigates life in a small town as he prepares for the annual Remembrance Day parade, reflecting on purpose and camaraderie.

Bravery in the Field

American Coal: Russell Lee Portraits (2024)

American Coal: Russell Lee Portraits

In 1946, photographer Russell Lee documented health and labor conditions in coal mining camps as part of a nationwide survey initiated by the Truman administration.

American Coal: Russell Lee Portraits

The Enemy Within (2023)

The Enemy Within

More than 38,000 German soldiers were held in prisoner of war camps across Canada during World War II, including Theo Melzer in Lethbridge, Alberta.

The Enemy Within

"Civil Rights: Then and Now" National Conversation on in Atlanta Highlights (2016)

"Civil Rights: Then and Now" National Conversation on in Atlanta Highlights

Moderated by Jelani William Cobb, a panel featuring Dr. Kurt Young and Ouleye Ndoye discusses the evolution of civil rights in America at a national conversation in Atlanta.

"Civil Rights: Then and Now" National Conversation on in Atlanta Highlights

Drylanders (2013)

Drylanders

Nine years pass as a family from Montreal struggles to farm wheat in the Canadian West, facing severe drought and economic hardship during the Great Depression.

Influenza: The Hundred Year Hunt to Cure the Deadliest Disease in History (2019)

Influenza: The Hundred Year Hunt to Cure the Deadliest Disease in History

The 1918 influenza pandemic killed more people worldwide than combat during World War One.

Influenza: The Hundred Year Hunt to Cure the Deadliest Disease in History

Apollo and the Oracle of Delphi (2025)

Apollo and the Oracle of Delphi

In ancient Greece, the Oracle of Delphi served as a pivotal religious site where priestesses delivered prophecies attributed to the god Apollo.

Apollo and the Oracle of Delphi

Explore Coal Face, Canada

Where else to watch

Coal Face (1935)

Coal Face

1935•11m•★6.3TMDB

Explore the gritty realities of Welsh coal miners' daily struggles.

King Coal (2023)

King Coal

2023•1h18m•★7.5TMDB

In Appalachia, Heather Hannah shares her experiences growing up as the daughter of a coal miner during the industry's decline.

Once We Were Pitmen (2023)

Once We Were Pitmen

2023•1h43m•★8.0TMDB

Five former coal miners in Germany face life after the closure of coal extraction in 2018 while adapting to the rise of climate activism.

Once We Were Pitmen

Volviendo a casa (2019)

Volviendo a casa

2019•1h29m•★6.0TMDB

Forty-five crew members of the Italian submarine Macalle were stranded on a deserted island in the Red Sea after their vessel sank in 1941.

Volviendo a casa

Browse more like this

Forgotten Warriors (2020)

Forgotten Warriors

Thousands of Indigenous Canadians enlisted in World War II, despite being told by the government that they had no business fighting in the conflict.

Forgotten Warriors

No digital watch option in your country

The Crucible (2002)

The Crucible

2002•1h46m•★10.0TMDB

Over 5,000 Canadian soldiers landed on the beaches at Dieppe during World War II, facing significant challenges and heavy losses.

Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks (1985)

Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks

1985•1h55m•★7.0TMDB

In 1949, Hal C. Banks arrived in Canada to dismantle the Canadian Seaman's Union and establish the Seafarers International Union as its replacement.

Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks

The Town That Was (2007)

The Town That Was

2007•1h11m•★7.2TMDB

One resident remains in Centralia, Pennsylvania, as an underground coal fire continues to consume the town, leading to its near-total abandonment.

The Town That Was

Welcome to Pine Point (2011)

Welcome to Pine Point

2011•35m•★4.0TMDB

Over 100,000 viewers watched the interactive short documentary within its first two months after its release in 2011.

Welcome to Pine Point

Image of an Assassination: A New Look at the Zapruder Film (1998)

Image of an Assassination: A New Look at the Zapruder Film

1998•1h28m•★7.6TMDB

Abraham Zapruder's footage of President John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas on November 22, 1963, is digitally remastered to reveal new details and its impact on public perception.

Image of an Assassination: A New Look at the Zapruder Film

Dancing Through Life: The Dorothy Toy Story (2017)

Dancing Through Life: The Dorothy Toy Story

2017•26m•★10.0TMDB

At 99 years old, Dorothy Toy Fong continues to perform, demonstrating her lifelong dedication to tap dance and the joy it brings to audiences.

Dancing Through Life: The Dorothy Toy Story

Good Kurds, Bad Kurds: No Friends But the Mountains (2000)

Good Kurds, Bad Kurds: No Friends But the Mountains

2000•1h12m•★6.5TMDB

Seventy-two minutes of footage show how Kurdish identities change based on different perspectives in conflict-ridden Iraq.

Good Kurds, Bad Kurds: No Friends But the Mountains

Zimmerwald (2023)

Zimmerwald

2023•1h6m•★4.5TMDB

A century after a secret conference against World War I, a secondary school class investigates its historical significance in the Swiss Alps.

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →